Biosecurity New Zealand has ended Oriental fruit fly operations and lifted restrictions on the movement of fruit and vegetables in the Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe.

The move, which comes after no further evidence of the Oriental fruit fly in the area, signals the end of five weeks of intensive fruit fly trapping and the inspection of nearly 4,000 kilograms of fruit.

Given there have been no further detections, the Controlled Area Notice restrictions can be lifted and response operations closed, including the removal of wheelie bins and road signs.

The end of this response does not mean the end of fruit fly surveillance. Biosecurity New Zealand’s nearly 8,000 fruit fly traps across the country, including over 4,600 in Auckland, remain in place. They are designed to specifically target the Queensland fruit fly, Mediterranean fruit fly, and Oriental fruit fly.

The local community, businesses, and residents are being thanked personally for their contribution to the effort.

Key figures:

• More than 1,900 individual visits were made to check 172 fruit fly traps in the Papatoetoe area throughout the response.
• Nearly 240 biosecurity bins were distributed in the community to collect produce waste for safe disposal.
• Nearly 4,000 kilos of fruit were collected and examined for signs of fruit fly eggs or larvae.